This show is known for three things:
*The first "Promised Land"
*The barrel of very heavily-dosed apple punch
*The aftermath
Cups of punch from the barrel were handed out and people were warned to just take a sip - though many either did not get the warning (because Chinese Whispers does not work) or did not heed. People got extremely dosed - some with thousands of mics. People were crawling through the crowd because they couldn't stand, taking off their clothes, convinced they were dead, etc. It got worse when the music stopped and people filtered out into the streets. They got lost, got teased/harassed/arrested by cops, and admitted to hospitals.
Some versions of the aftermath story say that, in retaliation for the punch incident, Bill Graham briefly lost his concert license. The official reason was for not having fire aisles (he would collect tickets by the hundreds and resell them at the window, causing notorious crowding). Other versions say he did not lose his license, and indeed he did have a press conference to address concerns where the loss was not mentioned. Yet he did consider not closing the Fillmore East as planned, which suggests he was thinking he may have to go to NYC. Either way, he was back in business shortly at the dilapidated ice rink.
Grateful Dead Sources has the L.A. Times article.
Jerry Garcia's Middle Finder has the Berkeley Barb dying fish story.
There were two shows originally booked for the 28th and 29th. They were bumped to the 29th and 30th to allow Jer another day for getting over being sick. I would like to believe msurrealistic's claims of misdating and incorrect set listing, actually, but there are troubling issues:
*He states "They definitely did NOT play Casey Jones on the first night". But there ARE two Casey Jones from these shows and they are NOT the same.
*Claims this 1st set belongs to 5/30. If so, then they played 3 songs twice on the 30th [anyway, this 29th show does not have two sets]
*Claims this show was on the 28th, but also says the 28th was the day Jer was sick, then says they cancelled both 28th & 29th - which leaves no clear sick day, because there were definitely two shows that were originally scheduled 28th/29th and then moved to give Jer a sick day. They were either moved 29/30, or 30/31, but there is no evidence of a 31st
*The official release has confirmed the 30th and that date's second set setlist. Jer may have been sick the 27th [or even 26th] and Graham moved the dates by one day to allow recovery; and the easiest way to do that is to honor the 29th tix on 30th.
*Indeed, ticket stubs for the 28th are hand-stamped to notify the move to the 29th. There are no stubs or indication they played the 28th, called in sick the 29th and then played the 30th.
*SBD reels with this date [29th] match the AUD with this date, and not the 2nd show
*The existing tapes are not sonically congruent if you move the top half of the shows to each other
*Newspaper reports jibe with given dates
*The SBD, the AUD, and the official release for the 30th all match
I gotta conclude that GDP and Lemieux have it right: the shows were each moved by one day, to the 29th & 30th, and setlists are correct.
The night was long; R.J. Fox opened, then James & the Good Bros., then NRPS (played just one song). The punch is said to have 35 grams - and ten times as many people losing it. If true, 350,000 doses were split between a few thousand people. One sip was apparently several hundred mics. Egads! Who would think this was a proper dosing method? Who knows; maybe this was the 1st time so many humans were dosed so far.
All that aside, the show started decent enough, but this is an unusually strong Hurts Me Too. The first-ever Promised Land is short and not quite ready (actually they may have played it in '65/'66). The next stretch is great, starting with a winning Loser-SS. Playin' is hard to hear but if you are used to AUDs you will find a great, early rock version with Billy in the pocket. Hard to Handle sounds amazing, the poor source frustrating, tantalizing. After Me & My Uncle it's hard to tell if there was a break of more than a few minutes, but attendees apparently recall one long set. Since it's just over a 2hr set, after the opening bands, this fits. This is also about where you can sense weirdness mounting. The next couple are average until a nice The Other One. Phil is just crazy all over. There's some wandering/waiting, but also some brilliance and a brief pseudo-Spanish. The end of Wharf Rat is cut @10:30, missing 17sec. The rest is average '71 except for a super Not Fade (again, check Phil).
Overall = B-   3½ stars
Highlights:
It Hurts Me Too - a sober Pig sends
Playing in the Band - you have to squint
Hard to Handle - frustrating, tantalizing, Pig at his best
Not Fade Away - it's been a Pig and Phil show
SOURCES: The aud_cotsman supplies the first half of the show plus Sing Me & Cumberland. It runs slightly fast and needs -1% pitch correction as well as balance intervention. The miller_110324 SBD is the choice from Truckin' on (though it's missing those other two).

With all props to the other cat who reviewed this show with his personal anecdotes as to pre-concert activities the actual date on this show is May 28, not 29th. And what passes for the "first set" is actually the first from 5-30. The second set, is indeed, the second set of the "acid dosing" concert (two sips were all one needed, but the guy standing next to me drank down the whole rest of my cup!). The New Riders played their pre-GD set without Garcia, who according to wags, was sick on Friday (the 28th), which occasioned why they canceled on the 29th and came back the 30th (Sunday).Perhaps this information was deliberately obscured by persons unknown within the GD organization, in order to haze their own culpability in the "electric bug juice" affair, but, honestly people, you just don't forget things like the details of your first Dead concert, no matter how trippy it might have gotten.. Tickets for that weekend were only 2 bucks. You can't beat that.
And I still take issue with the guy up above who says it happened on the 29th. I went on Friday the 28th. I was not turned away. I had a friend with a Saturday (29th) ticket. He was told to "come back tomorrow. " At the Friday night show NOBODY got tickets handed back handed "stamped for the 29th." Nobody got Anything back! Our research has shown that the records kept by Bill Graham fudged the 28th, presumably on purpose, after the fact. So Embarrassing for Uncle Bobo!!!
Garcia sat out the New Riders set, but he DID play with the Dead.. And you know what? Sometimes newspapers don't get things right, either. it's 5-28-71, people, and they ended the show with a NFA-GRFB-NFA that knocked plaster off the walls of the men's room... btw the Sugar Magnolia available here sounds like two different takes competing with each other. definitely not 'echo.

If you still have not figured a way to down load these, right click on the blue links that say vbr mp3, and click save as, pick a folder or a place you know you can find them and you'll be on your way. Other good auds to DL 8-6-71, 6-9-77, 6-10-76, 6-22-73 to name a few...
the sbd of this show is now available thanks to C.Miller (2nd set)

I had started recording the Dead and a lot of other shows in SF in 1969. I had no money so I listened to a show for a week, then used the same tape to record one of the next week's shows. I usually balanced the microphone on my head with no hands.
On May 29th 1971, I had met John McIntyre a few weeks before. My tape deck got popped going in, and I was told to take it back to my car. I waited outside the winterland stage entrance until McIntyre came, and asked him if I could get my tape deck in, since I had purchased a valid ticket. He hesitated for a second, and then said NO, he just couldn't do it! Bill Graham had just ejected someone from the stage door who was carrying a briefcase-perhaps it was Owsley, I don't know.
While waiting for McIntyre, a VW bus pulled up, and someone got out and took two green plastic garbage cans into the stage door--the guard was obviously waiting for them, and opened the door as soon as he saw the garbage cans being unloaded from the VW van.
I put my tape deck back into my own VW bus and went back to the Winterland entrance. However, I still had two bottles of San Miguel beer in my jacket. I got both of them in.
While waiting at stage right and wondering how I was ever going to find the friends I had come with, I heard someone say "excuse us, move aside please". I turned around and saw one of the green plastic garbage cans on a dolly being pushed by two people. The can was full of liquid. I immediately grabbed the rim of the can and helped push. After getting to stage right front with the can, I was handed a stack of 16 ounce cups, and told to fill them up, pass them out, and told to" tell everyone it's electric, take a small sip and pass it on" .I obeyed. The cups kept coming back throughout the whole concert, and all 35 gallons of the punch were almost gone when I thought I should fill one of the San Miguel bottles I had with me with some of the remaining punch. Which I did. A single 16 ounce cup overfilled my 12 ounce San Miguel bottle.
All one needed was 2-3 ounces of the punch in order to take a voyage. This was discovered by trial and error on subsequent days. Since that date, my two friends and I have celebrated 5-29-71, and wondered if we could ever find a recording of that night. However, since I'm an old fart, and pretty cyber-challenged, I can't figure out how to download the audio of this night.
Anyone want to give me a clue?
P.S.--I'm on dial-up (as befits an old fart)
Shawn A

Found this show while I was on the prowl for a Hard to Handle that could top 1971-04-28. This one has all the right ingredients, and really has a fantastic groove.

Just because there was acid in the punch doesn't make this show one of the acid tests which by 71 were ancient history. The quintessential quintet were light yrs. away from the band that played at those historical events in the mid-60s. Personally I love 71 worth a listen not a DL

Saw this show with my good buddy, we drank the "refreshments" while the New Riders played, the cups kept getting passed out, take a sip, pass it on, repeat....It was alot of Acid. But great acid. Many strange and wonderful people/characters (pranksters?) in the lobby & show, walking around. A Profound Experience for me.
It was a great show, but the scene outside was definitely nuts.
I was amazed when I found this site and this show. I have looked for years to find anything I could about this show. I couldn't find too much other than a small article in the SF Chronicle of how the city was going shut down Winterland & Bill G.
I would like to meet the person(s) who recorded this and tell them thanks!

I believe this was the night much of the crowd got dosed. Not a good scene outside when the show ended and many unprepared people tried to navigate their way home in an altered state...

Okay- just gave the show a listen. Quality is not very good... intresting show though

I believe that this was the last ever acid test- on DeadBase the following appears in the comments section: 'first "Promised" - Acid Punch Show - $2 Show - also: NRPS; R.J. Fox; James & The Good Bros."
Enjoy boys and girls- i am yet to listen so please disregard my star rating...